New USWNT head coach
- Thread starter whatithink
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They should have kept DA but changed it to include high school soccer. It was a better development process than what we currently have.
They were planning to have high school soccer the year following its demise. What they don’t publicly say is that Parlow hated DA.
Definitely a vengeful move that only harmed the girls and their soccer development.
We're going to see the impact of this decision in the next 5 years through our inability to compete in international competition and a large increase of international soccer players in NWSL and college soccer.
Orangeteam
SILVER ELITE
I'm curious about the DA comment.
Was the recipe and vision the DA had expected to be on par or better than a girls programs overseas?
The recipe and vision was to be better than what we currently have because we saw that the girls overseas were starting to catch up and surpass the US if the training system remained the same.
100% about the vision. I'm sure many had good intentions. We were told by the head boss of the GDA from the Netherlands that "The World is Watching" and so they came in heavy handed, slapped us with so many rules that most clubs were confused, changed to calendar year, told every Doc and club owner to offer fully funded teams for each of the clubs three top teams (it was 3 combo teams to start, like 98/99, 00/01 and 02/03), have "B" and "A" licensed coaches, state of the art fields, top DOCs, 10 months of soccer, no high school soccer and no other sports allowed or you were regulated to the second tier league ECNL. I bought in early on and drank so much of this Kool aid I got sick. The truth? This was a money grab, a power grab, destroy high school and college soccer and make sure the Blues get their business destroyed because Tad and others were 100% against this Gestapo take over because of the mental abuse this took on the girls.
Sounds like you had a bad experience and many parents from ECNL probably are going through the same experience you had too.
Agree the age change is bad for the US. Agree that high school soccer should be an intregal part of any soccer development program in the US because it's an intregal part of our culture. There are currently some ECNL coaches that discourage and punish players for playing high school. From my understanding, DA took feedback and was going to change this rule to allow high school.
The combo groups didn't happen for girls in DA or at least that didn't very long.
As for the money grab, it wasn't. DA was more expensive for clubs to run than ECNL because the coaching requirements were higher and the training/development requirements were higher.
As for Blues, I'm not sure why you would say that. Blues was a part of DA. Your daughter could have chosen to be part of Blues DA program. Blues started struggling more in DA because there was more competition OC because DA admitted more clubs. Blues still did great until Baker left and took a lot of top ECNL age players. Even after that, Blues is getting better again.
Money & Power Grab at the very top, not for the clubs. ECNL was 100% regulated. We agree to disagree. Regarding Blues, let me be frank. My dd played for Tad and won a state championship. Our 03/04 team was #1 in the country and was only going to get better. Parents, Docs, coaches, players that were loyal at Beach FC, & Legends FC were pissed off that Blues would poach their top players for ECNL and the college connections. College connection is and still the bait. Crazy Larry had the great OM and other top 04/05s. I was approached in 2016 by 3 of the top Docs in Socal to leave the Blues Kickball Program or my dd would get left behind. I was told that the Blues work on a very tight budget, had no fields (lost the Ranch) and their coaches were not supporting the US Soccer Training Centers (100% true) and had no real "Licence" to coach girls. Blues had no way to offer "fully funded" and would be out of business soon. Strikers OC and Blues were offered bags of cash by one of the richest clubs in the Nation to go away. The reason Blues struggled in the GDA is because their players were poached (bought) and offered 100% free rides, free uniforms, free travel and in some cases a spending Per Diem. Blues did NOT offer free rides to the stars and when all this went down and the age change came, most of the top players left for greener pasture and a chance for the invite to the Training Centers (new ODP) and through the TC, an invite to YNT List was promised. The Doc of these clubs was also the Training Center Director and "The Man." He had what the parents and kids wanted and that my friend was a big problem. He now had all the power one needs to poach players from the Blues and other clubs and boy did he. Blues did help some of the poor families and parents would offer free rides in their car to get that player to practice and to the games because most of the poor parents had two jobs to pay their bills and no stay home mommy.
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Orangeteam
SILVER ELITE
The Technical advisors that were hired by the DA in 2017 were supposed to set the tone for clubs to follow. They were also supposed to double as scouts. The Tech Adv. are now the Talent ID managers, but spread pretty thin since it's not just for DA they focus on.
US Soccer has known the womens/youth side was in trouble as far back as 2006. Tony DiCicco was very vocal about this and after he finished the U20 World Cup in early 2009 and he focused his World Cup report on the fact that we were already behind. I recall he had a section in the report of some of the basic technical skills lacking as well as some of the basics the coaches had to spend time teaching.
The Girls DA came on the scene in fall '17. 8 years of US Soccer either sitting on the problem or unaware of how to address it.
The DA had 5 Tech advisors and 70 something teams. Crush's reference earlier to 'the netherlands' wasn't just a SoCal experience. It was an uphill battle from the start.
US Soccer has known the womens/youth side was in trouble as far back as 2006. Tony DiCicco was very vocal about this and after he finished the U20 World Cup in early 2009 and he focused his World Cup report on the fact that we were already behind. I recall he had a section in the report of some of the basic technical skills lacking as well as some of the basics the coaches had to spend time teaching.
The Girls DA came on the scene in fall '17. 8 years of US Soccer either sitting on the problem or unaware of how to address it.
The DA had 5 Tech advisors and 70 something teams. Crush's reference earlier to 'the netherlands' wasn't just a SoCal experience. It was an uphill battle from the start.
You might want to read some of the comments she’s said about her dad. (Very dismissive)) it might change your opinion. Apparently he’s a super fan of hers and travels to watch every game she’s ever played.
Yes, it was an uphill battle, like any beginning. 5/70 is 13 clubs per person. That's tough but I think 15 scouts/technical advisors would have worked and on a rotating basis. However, I think they should have banned those scouts from working for Clubs and their affiliates/tournaments for 5 years after working as a Scout/advisor to prevent a conflict of interest.
The so-called "scouts" were former ODP scouts and some of the Docs. My dd Doc was a National YNT Scout, Head Training Center Director in San Diego and had too much power, MOO!
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I need to read those, too. My understanding is he was also (frequently) her youth coach and used to pick up and drop off other players so they could participate.
USWNT lost 0-2 to Mexico
Mexico upsets USWNT in Concacaf W Gold Cup: Highlights of stunning defeat
The USWNT lost for just the second time in 43 matchups with Mexico, falling 2-0 in the Concacaf W Gold Cup group stage game
www.usatoday.com
The US v MX result was not a fluke either. We create very few overloads, make almost no 3rd man runs, and rely on our forwards being able to beat opponent's backline in individual duals. I was not impresses by the GK and we missed our usual CB pairing. From my amateur eye, the USWNT is playing a no more nuanced version of soccer than what one sees at D1 college (but obviously with more elite talent). Chemistry looks off but that probably is just due to the poor results of late. We have the individual talent and hoping the program can get back on top with Emma Hayes.
I did not watch the game but based on what Alex Morgan ("Mexico brought it tonight") said and what Carli Lloyd said is troublesome. It seemed that Mexico had Ganas and we did not. The win against the Dominican Republic was all praise about this and that and how the USA was back. Something is off with this team.
"Mexico was exceptional. Best I've seen from them in a long time. Confident, brave, relentless, organized and hungry!" (= Ganas) Lloyd said.
During a criticism of the USWNT, Lloyd stated that a "lack of motivation crept in during 2020, giving other teams the confidence that they can beat the US team."
I think the competition to make the US team needs to be more intense and cutthroat with no politics, no guarantees and no contracts and big sponsor to be on the team. Pro, yes on the guaranteed contracts. I would suggest putting together a college all-star team of players who are knocking on the door for a call up to get this team ready for Spain and England. 2 shots on goal against a team that didn't make the World cup is no bueno. I love our country and want us to win. No spot should be safe. The new coach has her work cut out for her, but she can do it. The school of hard knocks.
"Mexico was exceptional. Best I've seen from them in a long time. Confident, brave, relentless, organized and hungry!" (= Ganas) Lloyd said.
During a criticism of the USWNT, Lloyd stated that a "lack of motivation crept in during 2020, giving other teams the confidence that they can beat the US team."
I think the competition to make the US team needs to be more intense and cutthroat with no politics, no guarantees and no contracts and big sponsor to be on the team. Pro, yes on the guaranteed contracts. I would suggest putting together a college all-star team of players who are knocking on the door for a call up to get this team ready for Spain and England. 2 shots on goal against a team that didn't make the World cup is no bueno. I love our country and want us to win. No spot should be safe. The new coach has her work cut out for her, but she can do it. The school of hard knocks.
What's off is the idea that it's business as usual, at least until the newly appointed coach takes the team. We will see if she does or is allowed to do what she feels best. There are now contractual restrictions and politics still embedded. Essentially US soccer as a whole is stagnant in many of the key areas. Such as picking the same players or the same kind of players that offer very little difference in how they play (i.e. most of the forward line from last nights game).
I agree 100% with you
